How about giving Nobel Prizes for 1000 women . Well, it not need take 1000 years to do that! The project "1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005" came about as a response to the neglect of sustained efforts by women all over the world in building peace. The website of the 1000 Women for Peace (www.1000peacewomen.org)lists 91 women from India. Nominations for the list were sought in 2003 and were gathered from all over the world with the help of 20 co-ordinators; more than 2,000 women from 153 countries were proposed, the international project team selected 1,000 of these candidates. The official nomination letter was handed in to the Nobel Prize Committee in Oslo on January 27, 2005.

A book of the 1000 peace women demonstrating the work and visions of 1000 women is being produced KONTRAST and internationally published in English by Scalo Publishing, Zurich, Switzerland, by the end of November 2005.

July 26, 2005

A few weeks ago, the English media and Aussie media were ripping Ponting's men literally. Now, it's payback time. (English media:"You bunch of drips" - The Daily Mirror , "Vaughan again losers" - The Sun, "New era but the same white flag" - Nasser Hussain in The Daily Mail. Already, emails are being circulated tormenting the "Poms" (English) cricketers!

Here's a sample!

Q. How dominant is Australia's No. 1 fastbowler? A. Well, most people in England think their opening batsman's real name is Trescothick B McGrath.

Q. What is England's best chance of a win in the second test at Edgbaston? A. Telling the Aussies the match is at the Oval.

Q. Heard about the new Ashes trophy? A. Yes, if England lose another series they're going to keep the bails and burn the players instead.

Q. How bad is the English batting? A. Well, the selectors are thinking of moving Extras up the batting order.

As usual, out of nowhere, I saw a book written by none other than Greg Chappell, himself "Cricket:The Making of Champions"(2004) - A revolutionary approach to learning, playing and coaching in the 21st Century.

The book didn't disappoint me. Just 5 chapters to differentiate what 'extra things' separate an ordinary player and the likes of 'Sachin Tendulkar'. He has observed few (23 players from last 50 years!) great cricketers (Donald Bradman, Sunil Gavaskar, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Muttiah Muralitharan, Graeme Pollock, Vivian Richards, Garfield Sobers, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Waugh brothers and some more!) and listed out their characteristics! They have created a website www.chappellway.com and posted their observations and got feedback from many experts to list out a strategy for 21st century cricket coaching. Here's a summary:

1.The core principles of movement: The way our bodies move effectively and efficiently while retaining perfect timing and balance. Ex. How balanced sachin stands, while waiting to hit the ball. Or how Mark waugh 'unweights' himself just 'before the delivery' at the slips!

2. How the brain works: How we learn, how our brain deciphers scenarios (conscious and sub-conscious). Ex. Shewag's shot selection is intuition-based. "There is no right way or wrong way of doing it. If we try to play a cover drive, we will all do it differently because each human being is different — both physiologically and mentally. He thinks differently that is why he is able to do things differently than a Tendulkar or a Dravid." - Greg Chappell

4. Organising yourself to success: Maintaining fitness, situational awareness and good tactics. Ex. How to build and support partnerships, Running between wickets.

5. Leadership: Skills required for an effective team member, a good captain and an outstanding coach or administrator. Ex. How to help other members who are undergoing difficult situations, Handling pressure situations and Importance of a Vice-captain!

July 24, 2005

The Australian currency is not made of paper. Here, polymer currencies (kind of plastic) are in use.Securency, the company behind this, is recognised as world leader in polymer substrate technology and the supplier of materials for the printing of banknotes.

First plastic currency notes (of denomination $5) were introduced in Australia before 13 years in this same month of July. In 1996, Australia became the first country with full series of circulating polymer banknotes. Primary advantages are 1) the currency notes lasts much longer than paper currencies 2) very difficult to counterfeit notes and 3) more security features can be embedded. They are friendly to environment too! You can see more advantages at http://www.securency.com.au

July 20, 2005

Read this story on Indiatimes (Times of India, New Delhi edition!) that bollywood producer Bobby Bedi is planning to make the epic Mahabhrata into a trilogy on the lines of "The Lord of the Rings".

Well, having watched the trilogy again for the 9th time (this weekend recently) I am afraid to hear the news.

I have no grudges towards bollywood filmmakers (although, they strive hard to make 98% of movies non-digestable, bombers at the box-office!). But, the sheer passion that went into the Peter Jackson's work is beyond measurable. He spent 8 years on the project.

July 17, 2005

Last week, I was searching for a home in the city (decided to move to city!). I called few people who advertised for want of housemates.

One day, I went to see a house for which a lady (owner?) had arranged an inspection. To my surprise, she was not lady; she was a girl in her twenties. She is an aussie girl, who is studying (and working as well). She told her boyfriend has moved out last week and she is searching for a housemate. Over to the conversation….

She:First, a couple of quick questions!Me: Yes!

She: Do you smoke?Me: No

She: Are you scared of dogs?Me: No (Noticing a black dog which is tied behind the doors!)

She: Do you have girl friend?Me: (what question is this?) Well, I have been here for just 4 months.. (what answer is this?..I am from India…Errr…

She: Oh.. India? Then ‘Namaste’ (She bows her head and says ‘Namaste’ with both hands!’)

She (again): oh, well your girl friends are in India?

Me: No, I don’t have girl friends (what she would think if I say, I dont have ‘girlfriends’.. To stop her asking next question, ‘Are you a gay then?’ I put next question)

Me (again): Which is the bathroom?She: (shows her room open and points towards an attached bathroom!) There is another bathroom out there. if this is occupied!

She: any other questions. you would like to ask..

Me: No, the rent $95 is too high for my budget, any way, I would think over that. Thanks!

Walking back to the bus stop, I thought for a while. I guess she is straightforward and clear in her thoughts. She speaks what she thinks. Whereas I am conditioned to think everything, and speak only filtered things (which others would like to hear?). I was acting like a ‘good boy’. Am I like this or everyone (an Indian) is like this? What stops me? Still searching for the answers…

July 13, 2005

Google Sightseeing, a blog run by Alex Turnbull, James Turnbull & Olly Jackson, posts some of the interesting places on the earth from the satellite's eye. Courtesy Google Maps & Google Earth!

I found this Maree Man post when I passed. "Ploughed into the Australian outback in 1998 (by persons still unknown), the Marree man is a 4km figure of an aboriginal. It’s faded into the desert quite a bit now but the shape (and size!) is still quite apparent. Wikipedia says that it was probably created using GPS and earthmoving equipment. There’s a good page here which discusses the possible reasons for creating the art work." - Posted by Alex

July 9, 2005

I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent....

I readily absorb ideas from every source, frequently starting where the last person left off.

Because ideas have to be original only with regard to their adaptation to the problem at hand, I am always extremely interested in how others have used them....

A good idea is never lost. Even though its originator or possessor may die without publicizing it, it will someday be reborn in the mind of another....

I am not overly impressed by the great names and reputations of those who might be trying to beat me to an invention.... Its their 'ideas' that appeal to me. I am quite correctly described as 'more of a sponge than an inventor....'

July 8, 2005

The festival has began. I attended the talk, "Shaping sustainable future: What you can do now" by Ian Lowe, Griffith University.

Some of his remarks are really striking very hard. Sustainable future - whose concerning about it anyway? Government? People? What about people of third-world countries? Will they sacrifice their economic aspirations for environmental concerns?

We tend to give more importance to short term goals, but what about the long term future of this planet? If you are not worrying now, then when?

We talk, sensationalize the killings of 100s of innocent people by terrorists (due apologies), but for 100s and 100s of years, many more 1000s are 'killed' by poverty, without having anything to eat!

We crave about desifner gadgets, designer clothes etc. What about the breathing air, drinking water, without which you will not be alive? Are we caring enough about it?

July 7, 2005

At Keep Walking, we aim to amuse, inspire and entertain readers by providing a collection of beautiful pictures, thoughtful anecdotes and stories. Our objective is to make you happy, make you feel better or to make you believe that there is more positive things in the world.

Believe in me, the future is always brighter and better.

You can contact me for feedback, to get help or for any purpose by emailing me pthi...@gmail.com

July 2, 2005

If you are bored this weekend about how to spend time alone (or in a group) this post is for you! Science journal has ranked the 125 most compelling scientific questions for the human kind. Each one will stimulate your thinking, I bet.

Some are just mind-boggling (What Is the Universe Made Of?), some are interesting (Are we alone in the Universe, How and where from life arise?) and some are too big (Do Deeper Principles Underlie Quantum Uncertainty and Nonlocality?) for a common mind like me.

Here’s my top 10(comments are mine):

10. How do planets form? – so we can create a planet in an artificial way09. Is there--or was there--life elsewhere in the solar system? – will they communicate (or can we understand them?)08. How do organs and whole organisms know when to stop growing? – may be we can ‘induce’ short people to grow tall!07. What Can Replace Cheap Oil -- and When? – Another most pressing / annoying envieonmental issue06. What are the limits of learning by machines? – is there a possibility of creating a ‘Digital Einstein’ to solve the remaining mysteries?05. Can we prevent extinction? – can this planet be a permanent home for the humankind? 04. What gave rise to modern human behaviour? – how do we learn culture, is there a message transferred by your genes?03. How will ecosystems respond to global warming? – on the contrary we may ‘evolve’ to live in the future ecosystem02. How long we can live? – 100? 200? forever?01. Is an Effective HIV Vaccine Feasible? – immediate and most demanding one.